


Let Me Hear It

by Cloverthirteen



Series: Franslim [3]
Category: A Bug's Life (1998)
Genre: M/M, Trans Male Character, headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:20:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23918188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cloverthirteen/pseuds/Cloverthirteen
Summary: Slim tells Francis about one of his memories.
Relationships: Francis/Slim (A Bug's Life)
Series: Franslim [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1529705
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Let Me Hear It

**Author's Note:**

> So if you're not familiar, I have a lot of headcanons about Slim and Francis' relationship. I went into detail about them in a post on my abl tumblr blog, which is here: https://ladies-and-gentlebugs.tumblr.com/post/613982068381286400/do-you-have-a-headcanon-about-how-slim-and-francis  
> Just in case, you might want to look at them for context.  
> Also Francis is trans in my headcanon, so yeah

The evening sky was painted with broad strokes of pink and orange. For every circus bug, the air was filled with a sense of euphoria. Their first performance away from the anthill had been a surprising success, and importantly for P.T., made a good profit. The troupe at last knew that the audience’s, and their employer’s, faith in them had been restored. There would be more performances in the future, but for now, everyone was getting a chance to relax.

For two of the performers, it was a bit of their chance for something else--maybe it was a date, maybe not. Neither of them could decide, exactly. All they knew was, they had wanted to go on a date, and this might be it, sitting together and watching the sky change color away from everyone else.

“So...how long have you had a crush on me?”

Slim lifted his head slightly, having started to drift off until his partner had broken the silence. He wasn’t expecting the question, but after thinking he decided to answer it a bit deviously.  “Hm...guess.”

Francis looked up with a grin. “What? C’mon, no way.”

But Slim didn’t relent, only smiling back.

“Ah, alright,” Francis agreed, thinking about it for a few seconds. “Oh, um...probably was...was it when we were living together?”

That didn’t sound quite right. Slim shook his head. “Not exactly. It was since before that, at least.”

“Huh. Yeah, that makes sense,” Francis noted. “Since you wanted to find me after college didn’t work for you and all.”

The stick bug grinned again, looking off toward the setting sun. “I suppose it’s possible I may have had some ulterior motives in that.”

“So...it was during high school then, right?”

“I think so.”

Francis scoffed. “What do you mean, “you think so?” Come on.”

Slim’s next words came easily to him. “I mean, I think I’ve been in love with you for a long time, but it’s only been since the last few months that I’ve truly realized it.”

“Alright, geez,” the ladybug said, trying to sound dismissive. “Sometimes when I think you can’t get any more cheesy...okay, so this happened...in high school, then. Okay.”

“Yes. I believe it was about a season after we met. In fact,” Slim said as a new memory came to the forefront of his mind, “I think it might have been during a rehearsal for the musical that season.”

Francis leaned back casually halfway into his friend’s lap, leaving him to attempt to regain his composure. “I dunno, I don’t think that was a good time. You probably should find out if someone sneaks out at night and tries to run away from home before you fall for them.”

“How could I help it? I didn’t even know I had fallen for you back then.”

“I can give you that, I guess.”

They sat like that for a moment, while Slim tried to recall the details of his memory. It was only a few weeks before they had opened...so many seasons ago, yet he didn’t have much difficulty recalling the most important details.

Francis had let his eyes close, relaxing against Slim’s body. Getting tired, probably. It had been an eventful day, after all...

_ Cute... _

Finally the stick bug spoke. “I-- actually, I...think I can remember when it happened.”

“Really?”

“You-- do you want to hear about it? I don’t know if…”

“Sure,” Francis said, opening his eyes and propping himself up. “I mean, yeah, I wanna hear it.”

“Alright,” Slim settled in to tell the story. “I might not be able to recall everything, but… it was one of our later rehearsals that season. We were doing Wizard of Oz, remember?”

“Oh yeah!” Francis laughed. “Heh, I bet Mrs. Crocus thought it was some kinda miracle when I said I wanted to try out for a guy’s part. Things changed a lot between years, y’know?”

“Yes, I suppose they have,” Slim sighed, smiling. “But I’m sure that the desperate need for boys in high school theater will stay the same for a while.”

“Yeah,"

Now that his partner knew when the event was set, Slim began to describe it. “Well, back to what I was saying--there was that day when you were late to rehearsal, which, naturally, was a bit unusual to everyone else, because you were always ready in the back room before anyone else had arrived. I was worried--what if something had happened to you?”

“You didn’t need to be that worried,” Francis interjected. “What could have happened?”

“I didn’t know you much outside of theater,” Slim replied. “And what I had heard I didn’t like--how was I not supposed to worry about your life at home the way you described it?”

“Eh. That’s fair.”

“Well, when you did arrive, it was fifteen minutes after everyone else had started, and it was clear you weren’t in a good mood,” the stick bug related, frowning slightly. “Nevertheless, you joined in with everyone else, but I remember that the longer you tried to just play your role, you kept getting more frustrated and angry.”

Francis shrugged. “Yeah, I do that.”

“But this wasn’t how you normally handled it. Usually when you get angry, it just, well, burns itself out after a couple of minutes,” Slim added, somewhat desperately. “But I was getting worried because it was just getting worse and worse. I tried to step in and say something, or even to console you, which--well--it surprised me, because I couldn’t remember caring so deeply for you before.”

This was beginning to sound familiar to Francis. “And you figured who better to crush on than your sometimes-friend with anger management issues, right?”

“Francis, I’m not finished,” Slim replied. He sighed melancholically. “When your frustration peaked, it was difficult to watch. You just tore into me, not like anything I had heard from you before at all. But I think that even you were realizing that you had gone too far, and you stopped, only to storm offstage and outside.”

Francis frowned, beginning to remember the event himself. “Oh, yeah, I think I remember when that happened. And then you--”

“--and then I followed you to see how you were doing, yes,” Slim finished. “I remember, when I saw you so frustrated and tearful, it was...well… I had never seen you cry before, or look so, well, vulnerable.”

“Eh, I tried not to let that happen,” Francis spurned, though he seemed to be affected by the memory as well. “Especially back then.”

Slim nodded. “Well, you have been improving on that front lately. Expressing your emotions is important, you know? And I feel that you’re much more pleasant to be around when you do.” he added.

“Y-yeah...I guess. If you say so,” Francis stumbled.

“But...at that moment, I tried talking to you again, and you told me...you told me things about your family that I hadn’t heard before. I thought your...transition...wouldn’t go very well with them, but I had no idea that it would turn out like, well, like  _ that _ . For them to berate you like that and threaten to cut your extracurriculars...it sounded horrible.”

“Hope it was a lot of fun getting to meet them when our first show opened, ‘cause I doubt they’d ever want to see me or you again.” The ladybug sat back and crossed his arms.

His partner looked down at him with a sigh. “I know. I-- I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Sorry for what? My family? I could handle them. They weren’t so rough. And now I’ll never see ‘em again.”

Slim felt a touch of exasperation. Why was this so hard to get through to him? “That’s not-- you know they were horrible to you. You told me so many things back then--you told me how many things you’ve lost from your life because of your family. You said how many clubs and events you joined just to get away from your house, and you didn’t even like most of them but they were better than the alternative. You said how for a while you were thinking of just dropping out of school and running away, and were probably going to go through with it. But you told me that theater was different, that it was the only thing you had grown to love, and that you might even lose that now, because of them.”

For a minute, both of them were silent, each taking in the unearthed memories separately. Slim broke the silence to reveal the very last thing.

“And I… I don’t remember what I said, or if I said anything, but I do recall you saying that...when you did leave...that I would be what you would most regret leaving.”

Francis looked up, staring up at his partner with a mixture of confusion and thoughtfulness.

“You- you didn’t say it exactly like that--”

He could remember it, though. Not that specific statement, but that inflection. “Yeah, doesn’t really sound like something I’d say, in those words, at least.”

“...but...regardless of how you said it...it was what you meant.” Slim paused, then completed the memory. “That was...I think...that was when I fell in love with you.”

The sun had nearly disappeared beneath the horizon, and the two sat to gaze at the sky for a few more minutes, although they weren’t really watching it anymore.

“...uh, Slim?”

“Yes?”

“I… I did mean that. I did...miss you. When I left.”

Slim gently curled two arms around Francis where he sat and smiled. “Hm. So did I, my dear.”


End file.
